Anyone getting a Moto Z?

And given how good this year's Moto phone crop of cameras is, that means that the moto x's camera is probably going to be pretty damn good.

Improvement of Moto cameras is indeed a very good thing. Awful or barely acceptable cameras have been my only real issue with Moto through the years. The MXPE has a decent camera, but it's not outstanding. The Z is not for me, but I really want Moto to succeed, and having a terrific camera is a big step in the right direction.

Improvement of Moto cameras is indeed a very good thing. Awful or barely acceptable cameras have been my only real issue with Moto through the years. The MXPE has a decent camera, but it's not outstanding. The Z is not for me, but I really want Moto to succeed, and having a terrific camera is a big step in the right direction.

The MXPE was a HUGE step up in my experience, compared to prior Moto phones. It was the first one that was really on par with modern smartphone cameras, like the G4. The Moto G 4 camera was even better than that, so I'm expecting the Z to be another step above.

Google and Sony (I think it was Sony. Correct me if I'm wrong and call me lazy for not searching) figured out a way to use the screen digitizer to scan fingerprints. I assume it's probably too expensive to use it in something cheap and disposable like a phone. Hopefully Samsung or LG can take the idea and make it more practical, then Chinese OEMs with closer relations to the factories who actually build phones can implement it cheaply.

Then we can just put our finger or thumb anywhere on the screen and stop living like animals :P

I'd much rather have 2 front speakers than a fingerprint scanner. In fact I don't like fingerprint scanners at all. I'd also prefer multicolor led notifications, ir blaster, big battery even if phone is thicker, or an fm radio chip... But I'm pretty olfashioned Android-wise. I hate these new fangled skinny assed phones. Nothing against LeMoto. Feel the same way about every brand.

How many mAh on the the modular add on battery? I do use Bluetooth headphones already so I suppose I could live with that.

I'd much rather have 2 front speakers than a fingerprint scanner. In fact I don't like fingerprint scanners at all. I'd also prefer multicolor led notifications, ir blaster, big battery even if phone is thicker, or an fm radio chip... But I'm pretty olfashioned Android-wise. I hate these new fangled skinny assed phones. Nothing against Moto. Feel the same way about every brand.

How many mAh on the the modular add on battery? I do use Bluetooth headphones already so I suppose I could live with that.

The phone has a single front facing speaker that is about just as loud and a little bit better quality than my droid turbo 2, which means the audio is very good for a smartphone, from first looks and hands on videos that played content through the speaker, without the JBL mod. When the demo lady in a video I watched demonstrated the boost in audio quality with the mod, I could still hear "cake by the ocean" coming from the phone and could tell what it was, in the main showroom of the tech world event. But the audio did not seem as loud or as clear as, say, an HTC 10, M9, ZTE Axon 7, but it seems a wee bit off the Moto X pure, because it is a quieter setup. And the battery mod is 2,220 mAh, so if you have a Moto z and you use the battery mod on the phone 24/7, which can be done, the phone will have around the same thickness as the original Moto X, and will have a 4,820 mAh battery capacity. The force with this mod would be about 13mm thick (too thick) and will have a 5,720 mAh battery capacity.

FYI, a lot of devices that seemingly have dual front facing speakers, due to the dual grille setup, use the dual grill setup to trick you into believing that the phone has said setup, when its sound actually only comes out of the bottom grille. Moto has done this before, along with ZTE's 2015 axon lineup, and even the nexus 5x only fires sound through the bottom grille. The nexus 6p has a true dual speaker setup, like the MXPE. So, by the subtraction of one grille, many people think this is an inferior speaker setup to other front firing speaker phones, when a vast majority of phones with a dual grille front speaker setup only have single front firing speakers like this, because the sound only comes out of the bottom grille.

The phone has a single front facing speaker that is about just as loud and a little bit better quality than my droid turbo 2, which means the audio is very good, from first looks and hands on videos that played content through the speaker, without the JBL mod. And the battery mod is 2,220 mAh, so if you have a Moto z and you use the battery mod on the phone 24/7, which can be done, the phone will have around the same thickness as the original Moto X, and will have a 4,820 mAh battery capacity. The force with this mod would be about 13mm thick (too thick) and will have a 5,720 mAh battery capacity.

FYI, a lot of devices that seemingly have dual front facing speakers, due to the dual grille setup, use the dual grill setup to trick you into believing that the phone has said setup, when its sound actually only comes out of the bottom grille. Moto has done this before, along with ZTE's 2015 axon lineup, and even the nexus 5x only fires sound through the bottom grille. The nexus 6p has a true dual speaker setup, like the MXPE. So, by the subtraction of one grille, many people think this is an inferior speaker setup to other front firing speaker phones, when a vast majority of phones with a dual grille front speaker setup only have single front firing speakers like this, because the sound only comes out of the bottom grille.

Thanks for the 411. Does it work like an extended battery IN a phone, both batteries charging together like one big battery, or do you have to charge mod battery separately then take it off to use internal battery?

Thanks for the 411. Does it work like an extended battery IN a phone, both batteries charging together like one big battery, or do you have to charge mod battery separately then take it off to use internal battery?

My question exactly!

If the battery pack charges the built in battery, then it's not as simple as adding 2220 mah to the phone's original capacity. There is efficiency lost when an external battery charges an internal one. So a 2220 mah external battery would provide 60-70% of that (~1300 mah). The best way to think of this is the external battery mod could charge a Z Force from 40% to 80% one time (or a regular Z from 25% to 80% one time).

If the battery pack works together with the internal battery, then I think you get the benefit of the full capacity. So that is far more preferable.

There is also a chance that it runs hot if you attempt to use phone while external battery "charges" internal battery. Big difference depending on how it works. Also, does the mod battery require a separate charger or do you merely plug in phone charger?

There is also a chance that it runs hot if you attempt to use phone while external battery "charges" internal battery. Big difference depending on how it works. Also, does the mod battery require a separate charger or do you merely plug in phone charger?

For this last question, I've heard you can charge the battery pack and phone together while it's connected to the phone. Alternatively, you can charge the battery pack on its own by plugging it in when it's not connected.

Gotta say I'm liking this. Yeah, there are all sorts of things I wish were different. Fingerprint sensor on the back. No headphone jack. A way to avoid Verizons slop apps. No included Porsche. (I can dream, right?) But there's a lot to like. I really like the battery mod. When I'll be near a charger, I can enjoy the slim design. When I'm going to be on an airplane or on my horse in the back country using my phone as a GPS tracker, I can use the mod with the extended battery. In fact, it looks like you might be able to hot swap the battery mod on without shutting down, though I'm not sure of that. A big plus for a traveler.

Never. Lenovo owned motorola has been a disaster. The moto z itself is completely hideous: huge sensors on the front and exaggerated protruding camera. Without these "moto mods" this phone is worthless. Also keeping the moto z as a Verizon exclusive until months later is a huge scam. Quite a disappointment.

Good. So the remaining question is does the mod charge the internal battery or provide direct power to phone?

When the mod is attached, the phone draws its power from the mod battery until it's dead, then it draws from the phone battery. Not sure about charging or if it will also top up the phone battery while attached.

When we get them in our hands we're planning on taking a good look at it all.

When the mod is attached, the phone draws its power from the mod battery until it's dead, then it draws from the phone battery. Not sure about charging or if it will also top up the phone battery while attached.

When we get them in our hands we're planning on taking a good look at it all.

Makes sense with the way they presented the projector, it'll use an hour of it's own power before needing to use the phone's battery.

When the mod is attached, the phone draws its power from the mod battery until it's dead, then it draws from the phone battery. Not sure about charging or if it will also top up the phone battery while attached.

When we get them in our hands we're planning on taking a good look at it all.

It will also be interesting how power is displayed on phone itself. I'm guessing it will read phone 100% (assuming it was full when mod attached) and some app will display mod % separately. I know nobody knows yet. Just find it interesting

When we get them in our hands we're planning on taking a good look at it all.

Especially curious about turbo charging on the Z Force, which was listed as 5V @ 6A - which seems to fall outside of the C and USB 3.1 specs, when they could have safely gone 10V @ 3A and had no issues that I can think of. I'd like to know if that listing is correct, if the phone is actually getting that much during deep charging and whether or not it is safe to use a charger that isn't that specific charger on that device.

Oh, and obviously how well the Pro Camera can eliminate the need to have a separate camera.

It will also be interesting how power is displayed on phone itself. I'm guessing it will read phone 100% (assuming it was full when mod attached) and some app will display mod % separately. I know nobody knows yet. Just find it interesting

Fast forward to 2:12. Looks like 78% on the Projector and 81% on the phone.

When the mod is attached, the phone draws its power from the mod battery until it's dead, then it draws from the phone battery. Not sure about charging or if it will also top up the phone battery while attached.

When we get them in our hands we're planning on taking a good look at it all.

Two years ago, Motorola publicly promised that all their phones (release after that point) will get at least 2 next Android major OS updates after release and they failed to deliver since. I lost my trust then and promised myself not to buy another Moto. However, I still liked their innovations and producing mid-high ranger phones which can be used in one hand. This year, all the 4 phones they released are 5.5", not to mention that ugly FPS which is positioned too close to the edge with huge bezels. The Moto Zs are even more uglier than the G4 for those mini-bullet holes (I don't know how many sensors they need on the front !). And above everything, the Zs won't be available till September - they could have very well waited another couple months and released them with Android N. Oh and did I mention the ugly huge camera bumps ?
In case you are still wondering, that's a big NO for all the Moto phones released this year. The new Nexus phones can't come soon enough so that I can dump my current Moto.